this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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Utes and SUVs kill... (www.hcn.org)
submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Saw this shared on Mastodon and it really made me think of National and their Atlas Network aligned astro-turf organisation the Taxpayer's Onion who campaigned against what they termed the 'ute tax'.

If the results of this 2004 study hold true 20 years later, and in New Zealand, then knowingly or not, they in effect have campaigned for and enacted legislation that will kill more New Zealanders.

"A 2004 study found that for every life saved by a motorist who switched from a car to a light truck (SUV or pickup), 4.3 other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists were killed. "

That statistic also suggests that the safety fears driving people to SUVs are completely overblown and over-egged.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-advice/ford-ranger-specifications-all-the-details-88686

They start at less than 1.8 tonnes. A model S, by comparison, is 2.2 tonnes.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

A model S has better brakes and a lower center of gravity, AND better visibility for pedestrians. SUV's are getting dangerously overgrown in their fronts and it's taking lives.

https://www.theautopian.com/full-size-suvs-are-twice-as-likely-to-kill-pedestrians-as-cars-study/

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

We're not talking about SUVs here, we're talking about utes. And that doesn't change the fact that a collision between an S and a small hatchback would annihilate the smaller car.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

utes

stop acting like the vast majority of utes are low-body holdens - today there's a lot more rangers and hiluxes that are basically SUV's with beds.

annihilate? what do you think's in the batteries, antimatter?

I think your rhetoric is more charged than the tesla and your 'cautionary' bias is ridiculously misplaced.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

My point is, they're nearly twice the weight of some small hatchbacks, and if one runs into you, you're in a far worse position than an equivalent ICE vehicle.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think you're making a much larger issue of the weight differential than actually merits, while entirely disregarding the visibility issue that's killing people left and right.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Keep posting infographics and videos about vehicles we don't even have in the country, that'll convince people.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

It convinced me. But then I'm capable of extrapolating trends between counties.

It's clear though: large vehicles save the occupants but kill others at a higher rate.